My first contact lenses. (I was 14 years old, and when the doctor asked what color I wanted, I said, "Ooooh, I always wanted blue eyes." He pointed out that the lenses wouldn't change my brown eye color, so the sassy teenager in me replied, "Well, then, might as well make them pink." He did.)

Until a couple of years ago, I didn't really "get" salt. I don't mean that I didn't have salt in The Perfect Pantry; I had plenty. Iodized table salt (for baking) and kosher salt (for everyday). That Hawaiian pink salt. Black salt. French fleur de seland Portuguese flor de sal.

I pinched here and there, and used my salts sparingly for baking and on matzoh brei. Then, just when I'd gotten the hang of colored salts, I discovered flavored sea salt.

Sea salt results from the evaporation of sea water; it's raked by hand, so the granules remain large and irregular. A natural product, with no additives, sea salt takes kindly to being mixed with bold flavorings. It's great in marinades and salad dressings as well as for finishing dishes, meaning the salt sits on top of the dish and slowly melts in at the end of the cooking.

If pink salt is good, grey salt is better. Grey is the color of sea salt harvested in Guerande, France (fleur de sel is harvested off the surface, leaving behind the grey salt), and it's the base for the herb-and-lemon flavored Mor-sels salt that has taken up permanent residence in my pantry. I first discovered this in a local shop, where the cheesemonger paired it with some soft cheeses. Salt and cheese -- an unexpectedly wonderful combination. Made by Rhode Island metal sculptor Peter Morse from herbs grown in his garden blended with lemon zest, this salt comes in a beautiful tin that keeps 2.5 ounces of flavored salt dry -- and chic.

It's easy to make your own flavored salt, too. Szechuan peppercorns, matcha, fresh thyme, smoky pimenton, lavender, orange -- use your imagination (and a food processor or blender), and raid the pantry and garden for ingredients to pair with salt. There's no limit to the flavors you can create, or to the number of sea salts you can keep on your spice rack.

Grilled sirloin tips with asparagus

Peter Morse, who created Mor-sels flavored sea salt, also creates magic in the kitchen. He graciously shared this recipe, which serves 6-8.

Directions

In a bowl, place the sirloin tips. Combine coconut milk, mirin, ketchup, and chili paste into a festive red marinade, and pour over the meat. Let stand in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

In a saucepan, combine chicken broth and 1 cup water. Under the kitchen faucet, rinse rice in a colander until water runs clear, and add to the broth. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Stir occasionally. Let water reduce slightly below the rice level and the lower the heat to the absolutely lowest setting. Place a tight lid on the saucepan and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

While the rice is cooking (or up to a day ahead), make a compound (blended) butter by mixing butter, parsley, and a pinch of Mor-sels. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Heat your grill (or grill pan, if you're cooking on the stovetop). While the grill is heating, remove sirloin tips from the refrigerator, drain excess marinade, and let the meat come to room temperature. Grill to desired doneness, and set aside to rest for a few minutes. Toss asparagus with olive oil and a sprinkle of Mor-sels, and grill until just tender.

On a large platter, make a bed of the basmati rice, and arrange asparagus spears and sirloin tips on the rice. Top with a large dollop of compound butter and, if you wish, finish with a sprinkling of sea salt.

Katie, what a lovely offer! I will do that -- so now please think of what I can send you in return.

B, welcome to The Perfect Pantry. I'm afraid I'm going to side with your father on this one!

Jennifer, the Mor-sels salt has inspired me to play around a bit, too.

Patricia, I'd be happy to send you some if you send me your address.

Kelly-Jane, there are so many salts on the market now. Was it always this way, or is this a recent phenomenon and I have just been oblivious? I'm having lots of fun experimenting with new ones, and as I don't use much salt on my food, each of the ones I buy lasts a long time.

I've been reading a lot about these sea salts lately - some call them gourmet. But one thing I've heard that particularly appeals to me is that it goes well with vanilla ice cream. Somehow it doesn't taste salty but flavorful, as the reaction between the cream and the salt produce another flavor altogether! I plan to try this! Have you had that before?

I've never seen pink salt before, though I'd like too. What does it taste like? I have seen black salt at Trader Joe's but haven't bought it yet. Now, you've piqued my curiosity. Very cool suggestion to flavor your own salts!

I am salt obsessed, so much so that I have to hide my salt experiments or purchases from the husband, like a woman coming home with yet another pair of shoes....!!
Great post. Love the sound of that herb-lemon salt. I do like grey better too, probably because this is what my mom used all the time. In France, we serve grey salt in a crock with beef pot roast. It adds depth to the flavor of the meat and veggies.

Hillary, salt and ice cream, eh? Never tried it -- but maybe it's the same theory as salt and cheese, which I'd never tried until just recently (and boy is it delicious).

Pauline, that's a great question. What I noticed about this particular flavored salt is that, by having the herbs and lemon sitting in with the salt for some period of time, the salt itself actually absorbs the flavors evenly. So when I use it, I don't get a bite of lemon, a bite of herb, a bite of salt -- every bite seems to have all of the flavors. When you make your own flavored salt, do let it sit together for a while before you use it, to get that effect.

My favorite flavored salt is saffron salt. it's especially nice ground onto scallops to really enhance both their flavor and golden color. but then again, maybe I prefer truffle salt, especially on pasta. But then there's salt with herbs d'provence, and salt with pimenton d'esplette.... shoot. I love them all!

I use Fleur de Sel regularly, but have been avoiding the use of a jar of Mesquite Smoked Salt from the Maine Sea Salt Co. simply because I wasn't sure what to do with it. From the label, it appears that it can be used as either a cooking or a finishing salt. Maybe we'll try some on grilled meat this week - thanks for inspiring me to try this stuff which has been languishing in my pantry for ages.

I do like the idea of making your own flavored salt a lot. I made some rosemary salt last winter, but now I'm thinking the thyme salt that Paz made would be good to try next. I am a bit of a salt freak, I need to be careful not to use it too much!

I must be living in a culturally deprived place. I don't think I've seen any pink or black salt for sale anywhere here. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough?

Shawn, thanks for the heads-up! Chocolate and salt sounds like a fabulous combination. I'll second your recommendation of Mark Kurlansky's book, too.

Ann, I've never had saffron salt (I can picture the beautiful color...). Salt with espelette pepper -- now that sounds like my kind of spice!

Annie, mesquite on grilled meat sounds perfect to me. I'd go slowly -- the smoked salts sometimes are very smoky, so use a little at a time until you get a feel for this particular brand.

Kalyn, now I remember your post about rosemary salt. I'm not a big rosemary lover, so Paz's thyme salt is more appealing to me. The pink Hawaiian salt and black salts are both available online; here's a good source:http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/si_gourmet_reference.asp
By the way, is there any salt harvested from Great Salt Lake?

If you are into flavored salts or finishing salts you should check out this website: http://www.atthemeadow.com/salt/saltlist.htm
Particularly interesting to me are the Taha’a Vanilla Flake Finishing Salt, which I think would be fantastic on a scoop of vanilla or paired with several other desserts (they also suggest pairing it with fish), and the Halen Mon Gold salt, which also looks amazing.

Lucy, I remember when I first switched to kosher salt from iodized salt, and I was amazed at how much better food tasted. Then along came sea salt, and the whole concept of "finishing" salt, and I feel like I'm still learning about the different salts and how/when to use them. I love the grey salts for everyday.

I've got to admit, I am salt obsessed, too. I currently have fleur de sel (or sel de fleur, as I usually call it) from all parts of France and in several different combinations. I like the stuff with seaweed on salmon.

I've never had morsels salt, or grey salt. But that herbed salt sounds wonderful! I use fleur de sel mostly and pink Hawaiian salt, and salt flakes for my salads. I can understand how one can get obsessed with these! :)

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Welcome to The Perfect Pantry®

My name is Lydia Walshin. From my tiny kitchen in Boston's South End, I share recipes that use what we keep in our pantries, the usual and not-so-usual ingredients that spice up our lives. Thanks so much for visiting.